Biological Resources
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5.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES This section describes the existing biological resources, including special-status species and sensitive habitat, known to occur and/or have the potential to occur in the Project study area (Project area). A summary of the regulations and programs that provide protective measures to special-status species, an analysis of impacts to biological resources that could result from Project implementation, and a discussion of mitigation measures necessary to reduce impacts to a less than significant level, where feasible, are provided in this section. 5.4.1 EXISTING SETTING A significant number of studies have been undertaken in the Project area over the last several years. The following Project-related documentation was reviewed to collect site-specific data regarding habitat suitability for special-status species, as well as the identification of potentially jurisdictional waters. These studies are provided in Appendix D. • Jurisdictional Delineation and Special Status Species Evaluation, Wheatley Property (Gibson & Skordal 2003) • Special-Status Species Assessment for Souza Dairy Property (ECORP 2004a) • Wetland Delineation for Souza Dairy Project Area (ECORP 2004b) • Wetland Delineation for South East Area Specific Plan, Kammerer Family Trust (ECORP 2006a) • Biological Resource Evaluation Letter Report for Simas Property (Sycamore 2006a) • Preliminary Jurisdictional Delineation Report for Simas Property (Sycamore 2006b) • Wetland Delineation for South East Area Specific Plan, Reynen & Bardis Properties1 (ECORP 2006b) • Special-Status Species Assessment for South East Area Specific Plan (ECORP 2007) • Jurisdictional Delineation & Special-Status Species Assessment, Souza Dairy (Gibson & Skordal 2013) Preliminary database searches were performed on the following websites to identify special- status species with the potential to occur in the area: • US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Sacramento Office Species Lists (2014a) • USFWS Critical Habitat Portal (2014b) • California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) (2014a) 1 Reynen & Bardis does not own land in the Project area, but the study is referred to as the Reynen & Bardis study because it was submitted as part of a previous application on the property. City of Elk Grove Southeast Policy Area Strategic Plan March 2014 Draft Environmental Impact Report 5.4-1 5.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES • California Native Plant Society (CNPS) Inventory of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants of California (2014) A search of the USFWS Sacramento Office’s database was performed for the Florin, Sacramento West, Sacramento East, Carmichael, Clarksburg, Elk Grove, Galt, Bruceville, and Courtland, California US Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute quadrangles to identify special-species within their jurisdiction that may be affected by the Project. The query of the USFWS Critical Habitat Portal did not identify any critical habitat within the Project area. A query of the CNDDB provided a list of known occurrences for special-status species within a 1- and 5-mile radius of the Project area. Lastly, the CNPS database was queried to identify special-status plant species with the potential to occur in the Florin, California, USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle. Raw data from the database queries is provided in Appendix D. Refer to the “Special-Status Species” section for a summary of the database search results and conclusions regarding the potential for each species to be impacted by Project-related activities. REGIONAL SETTING The Project site is located within the California Dry Steppe ecological province. This province occurs on the flat alluvial plain between the Sierra Nevada and Coast ranges in the Central Valley of California. The California Dry Steppe province is characterized by hot summers and mild winters with precipitation largely occurring during the winter months (December through February). The landscape consists of broad, flat valleys bordered by sloping alluvial fans, slightly dissected terraces, and the lower foothills of the surrounding mountain ranges (McNab et al. 2007). The California Dry Steppe province comprises only one ecological section, the Great Valley; therefore, the geomorphology is the same as described for the province as a whole. The Great Valley, or Central Valley as its more commonly referred, was once dominated by natural grasses; however, a long history of plowing, fire suppression, and grazing related to agricultural conversion have eliminated these habitats with the exception of a few remaining areas. Many slow-moving rivers flow through the Central Valley to the delta region east of the San Francisco Bay. These river systems have been channelized, leveed, and dammed to regulate the flows throughout the year. This ecological section has been further subdivided into 26 subsections (McNab et al. 2007). PHYSICAL SETTING The Project area is located within the Hardpan Terraces subsection of the Great Valley ecological section and comprises the terraces along the eastern edge of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. Vegetation is largely characterized by the California annual grassland series, purple needlegrass series, northern hardpan vernal pools, cupleaf ceanothus-fremontia- oak series, blue oak series, California sycamore series, and foothill pine series. Mean annual precipitation is approximately 10 to 25 inches that falls primarily as rain, while mean annual temperature is approximately 58° to 62° Fahrenheit. Streams within this subsection either drain to the Sacramento River or the San Joaquin River or to closed watersheds in the San Joaquin Valley. There are no lakes; however, temporary ponding of water occurs on Pleistocene terraces forming vernal pools (Goudey and Miles 1998). BIOLOGICAL SETTING The Project area comprises a mix of urban, cropland, irrigated hayfield, vineyard, deciduous orchard, annual grassland, freshwater emergent wetland, wet meadow, open water, and drainage/irrigation ditch cover types (Figure 5.4-1). In addition to the build out of the Project Southeast Policy Area Strategic Plan City of Elk Grove Draft Environmental Impact Report March 2014 5.4-2 5.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES area, off site infrastructure improvements will include deepening 3,200 feet of the existing channel west of the Project area running south of Kammerer Road (see Figure 2.0-5) Aquatic features were mapped using the above-referenced jurisdictional delineation data, combined with aerial photointerpretation for the remainder of the Project area. Each cover type is described below based on the data presented in the CDFW’s A Guide to Wildlife Habitats of California (2014b). City of Elk Grove Southeast Policy Area Strategic Plan March 2014 Draft Environmental Impact Report 5.4-3 5.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES This page is intentionally left blank. Southeast Policy Area Strategic Plan City of Elk Grove Draft Environmental Impact Report March 2014 5.4-4 D o c u m e n t P a t Legend h : T : \ _ G I S \ Project Study Area E l k _ G r o v Jurisdictional Feature Type e \ M X D s \ Freshwater Emergent Wetland URB S o u t h e a s t Irrigation / Drainage Ditch _ A r e a _ S Open Water P _ E I R \ B i Wet Meadow IRH-H o _ E I R _ 2 Vegetation Type 0 1 URB 4 \ URB F i g u URB r Annual Grassland (AGS) e 5 . 4 - 1 V Deciduous Orchard (DOR) URB e g e t a t B i v e Irrigated Hayfield - Alfalfa (IRH-A) R AGS C AGS o U m DOR m u Irrigated Hayfield - Hay (IRH-H) n i t i CRP e s . URB m x Irrigated Row and Field Crop (CRP) d ( 2 / 7 / 2 0 Urban / Ruderal (URB) 1 4 ) Vineyard (VIN) URB AGS IRH-H IRH-H URB AGS IRH-A CRP URB IRH-H URB IRH-A URB IRH-A CRP AGS IRH-H URB IRH-H URB CRP URB URB 0 500 1,000 CRP VIN URB URB ´ URB FEET Source: PMC; City of Elk Grove; ESRI. Figure 5.4-1 City of Elk Grove Development Services Vegetative Communities Within Project Study Area 5.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES Urban/Ruderal (83.4 acres) The urban/ruderal cover types consist of rural residential lots, maintained roads, and other altered habitats within the Project area. These properties typically contain residential structures along with various outbuildings and other structures utilized for farming operations. Vegetation within these lots is characterized by ornamental trees, shrubs, and maintained lawns. Weedy annual species, including shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), chickweed (Stellaria media), fiddleneck (Amsinckia spp.), and groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), grow in disturbed areas and along the edges of hardscape. The rural nature of the urban cover types within the Project area, combined with the proximity of large expanses of cropland habitats, provides suitable habitat for a variety of species including coyote (Canis latrans), raven (Corvus corax), gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer), and western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), as well as other common migratory birds and raptors. Irrigated Row and Field Crops (124.4 acres) Vegetation in irrigated row and field crops can include a variety of shapes, sizes, and growing patterns. Crop types vary in structure and can represent a wide range of heights, densities, and canopy covers. The majority of row crops are annual species, while others are perennials. Most annual crops are planted in spring and harvested in summer or fall. Crops may be planted in rotation resulting in multiple harvests per year. Crop rotation helps to conserve nutrients in the soil and maintain soil productivity. Common irrigated row and field crops in the Project area include broccoli (Brassica oleracea Italica Group), cabbage (Brassica oleraceae Capitata Group), radish (Raphanus sativus), onion (Allium cepa), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata), soybean (Glycine max), kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea Gonglodes Group), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus), snow peas (Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon), and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris flavenscens). In addition to the cultivated species, weedy annuals may grow in the fields, including shepherd’s purse and mustard (Brassica spp.). Several rodent and bird species have adapted to croplands, including raptors, doves, rabbits, mice, and ground squirrels.